Portable electric floor and window fan

ABSTRACT

A combination portable electric floor and window fan is provided with louvered front and rear walls, end walls, a top surface having an upwardly-directed fixed-width V-shaped channel for receiving the lower portion of a frame or sash of a window when window-mounted, and bottom surfaces from which an elongate runner extends downwardly for engaging a window sill. The width and angle of the V-shaped channel accommodates window frames or sash of different thicknesses. The upper portions or legs of the V-shaped channel form handles for lifting and transporting the fan. Pivotally-mounted feet are confined totally within the sides of the runner when the runner is capable of sole bottom support of the fan on an outside portion of a window sill. The feet may be pivoted perpendicularly relative to the runner and the front and rear walls to support the fan either on a floor or by hooking onto an inside portion of a window sill. The runner and V-shaped channel are symmetrical about a common plane extending essentially parallel to and midway between the front and rear walls.

This invention relates generally to a portable electric fan unit whichmay be supported either on a flat surface such as a floor or table or ona sill of an open window for directing air either into or out of a room.In particular, when used as a window fan, the unit accommodates varioustypes and widths of window frames for moving air in either directiontherethrough.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fan units which can be used either for moving air between the exteriorand interior of a room through an open screened window have been commonin the art for a considerable period of time. So too it is known thatsuch a unit can be held steady by window frames to stabilize the unitagainst tipping or falling. An example of such a fan unit is shown inU.S. Pat. No. 5,110,263, granted to Chiu on May 5, 1992. Welch U.S. Pat.No. 2,547,189, illustrates brackets for fan mounting panel members in awindow opening.

However, there remains a need for a portable floor/window fan unit whicheasily adapts to exhaust air from or intake air into a room through ascreened window, which accommodates a greater variety of window widthsthan known fan units, and which further does so without being obstructedby a screen for the window opening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An elongate, combination portable electric floor and window fan unit isprovided with opposing louvered front and rear walls, end walls, a topsurface having an upwardly-directed fixed-width V-shaped channel forreceiving the lower portion of a frame or sash of a window when the fanis window-mounted, and a bottom surface from which an elongate runnerextends downwardly for engaging a window sill. The width and angle ofthe V-shaped channel accommodates window frames or sashes of differentthicknesses. The upper portions or legs of the V-shaped channel comprisehandle means for lifting and transporting the fan. Pivotally-mountedfeet are confined totally within the sides of the runner when the runneralone supports the fan unit on an outside portion of a window sill, butthe feet may be pivoted at right angles to the runner to enable the feetto either support the fan on a floor or to hook onto an inside portionof the window sill. The runner and V-shaped channel are symmetricalabout a common vertical plane extending essentially parallel to andmidway between the front and rear walls.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a window-mountedelectric fan unit capable of intaking air into or exhausting air from aroom, which accommodates a large variety of windows of different sashwidths, and which centers the unit relative to a sash without the use oftools or movable parts.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a fan unit with apair of outwardly-directed fingertip recesses forming handles forlifting the fan from either side thereof for transporting, said handlesbeing spaced horizontally and forming a V-shaped channel therebetweenfor receipt of minimum and maximum-width window sashes.

A further object is to provide such a fan unit with a runner extendingdownwardly and centrally from the bottom surface thereof in verticalalignment with said V-shaped channel, said runner confining a pair ofpivotal fan-supporting feet between the outer sides of the runner, andsaid runner or said feet selectively providing support for the fan uniton a window sill.

Ancillary thereto, it is an object of the invention to enable such feetto be pivoted perpendicularly to said runner to enable said feet tosupport the fan on an inner portion of a window sill.

Another object is to provide a longitudinally-extending, V-shapedchannel at the top surface of such a fan unit and alongitudinally-extending runner at the bottom surface of said unit in acommon vertical plane extending essentially midway between front andrear walls of the fan unit, whereby to enable reversibility of the fanfor either intaking or exhausting air through a window opening with thesame amount of the fan unit extending on each side of the window.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description inwhich reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a fan unit of this invention mounted ina window opening as viewed from inside a room.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the fan unit of FIG. 1 looking downwardly in thedirection of arrow 2 and illustrating in phantom a relatively widewindow frame or sash.

FIG. 3 is a view looking in the direction of the arrow 3 at the rightside of FIG. 1, illustrating the fan unit intaking air into a room. Thefan unit is shown as being stabilized at its top surface by a relativelynarrow, minimum-width window sash.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the fan unit reversed toexhaust air from a room, and is shown being stabilized at its upper endby a wider window sash than the sash of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An elongate, combination portable electric floor and window fan unit 10is provided with louvered front and rear walls 12 and 14 respectively, atop surface 16 having an upwardly-directed fixed-width V-shaped channel18 for receiving a lower portion of a frame or sash 20 of a window 22when window-mounted, and a bottom surface 24 from which an elongaterunner 26 extends downwardly for engaging a window sill 28. The widthand the angle of the V-shaped channel 18 is designed to accommodatewindow and door frames of a variety of thicknesses. The upper portionsof the V-shaped channel 18 comprise handle means 30 for enabling liftingand transporting of the fan unit 10 by one's fingertips. A pair ofpivotally-mounted feet 32 are confined totally within the sides of therunner 26 when the runner provides sole bottom support of the fan unit10 on an outside portion of a window sill. The feet 32 may be pivotedperpendicularly relative to the runner 26 and the front and rear walls12 and 14 to support the fan unit 10 either on a floor or against thetop inside portion 34 of the window sill 28. The runner 26 and theV-shaped channel 18 are centered along a common vertical planeessentially midway between the front and rear walls 12 and 14.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the fan unit housing is preferablymolded from polypropylene plastic in two halves comprising the front andrear walls 12 and 14, respectively. The two housing halves are joinedalong a parting line which is located in the vertical plane on which therunner 26 and the V-shaped channel 18 are centered. In the embodiment ofthis invention illustrated herein, the two housing halves areessentially identical except for bosses (not shown) for mounting a pairof motors 38, portions of which can be viewed through louvers 39 in thefront wall 12 (FIG. 1). Motors 38 are provided with controls 40 shown indotted lines in FIG. 1 and are supplied with electrical house current bya cord 42.

The handle means 30 are formed by providing recesses as shown incross-section at the upper left end of FIG. 3 and at the upper center ofFIG. 1. The fan unit 10 is relatively light in weight and can be simplylifted and carried from one location to another by the fingertips ofone's fingers in either handle 30. Alternatively, one can span bothhandles of the V-shaped channel 18 and insert the fingertips of one handinto the recess of one handle 30 and a thumb into the recess of theother handle 30.

The feet 32 are each provided with a cylindrical trunnion 44 as shown incross-section in FIG. 1. The feet 32 are centered on the parting line36. They are retained in the unit 10 by placing the trunnions 44 incylindrical notches which capture the trunnions 44 when the two halvesof the housing are brought together to complete the assembly of the fanunit 10. FIG. 1 illustrates the feet 32 being pivoted to positions inwhich they are confined within the outside edges of the runner 26,constituting the manner in which the unit is window-mounted as shown inFIG. 3. Alternatively, the feet 32 may be pivoted to be perpendicular tothe walls 12 and 14 as shown in FIG. 4, either for placing the unit 10on a floor or for utilizing recessed portions 58 of feet 32 to hook ontothe inside portion 34 of the window sill 28. With reference to FIGS. 1,3, and 4, the fan unit 10 is shown used in a window which is screened bya window screen 46.

A significant aspect of this invention resides in the ability of theV-shaped channel 18, although projecting from fixed housing portions andhaving no moving parts, to be used with window sashes 20 of variousdifferent widths. Thus, the window sash 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 isrelatively narrow and rests on top of the fan unit 10 between the twolegs of the V-shaped channel. Optionally, the top surface 16 may beprovided with upwardly-directed protrusions 48 in the general shape ofhalf-dowels to form a resting surface for the narrow sash 20 of FIG. 3at the truncated bottom of the V-shaped channel 18 in FIG. 3. Withoutrequiring any movable parts between the sash contacting surfaces of thesides of the channel 18, the same channel 18 can accommodate any widthup to a two inch wide sash 20. FIG. 4 illustrates a sash 20 which iswider than the sash of FIG. 3, and therefore, is supported higher in thechannel 18 by mutually confronting surfaces 50 formed by the back sidesof the recesses which create the handle means 30. With the V-shapedchannel 18 being fixed in width, there is no need to use tools to adaptthe unit 10 at the top surface 16 for different width windows. Eachwindow is merely lowered into the channel 18 until its two corner edgeseither contact the surfaces 50 or until the bottom edge of a narrow sashcontacts the protrusions 48, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In general, theV-shaped channel 18 is preferably designed to support window sashesranging from one to two inches in width. FIG. 3 shows a one inch sashand FIG. 4 shows a one and one-half inch sash.

An arrow in FIG. 3 represents air being drawn by the fan unit 10 fromthe exterior of a room to the interior of the room, that is, from rightto left as viewed in FIG. 3. The fan unit 10 is shown turned around inFIG. 4 so that air is exhausted to the right as indicated by the arrow56. A fan motor control knob 52 is recessed in the top surface 16 andextends through the recesses formed by the handle means 30 so that it isaccessible from either side of the fan unit 10. Whether the unit 10draws air into a room as shown by the direction of the arrow 54 in FIG.3 or exhausts air from a room as shown by the arrow 56 in FIG. 4, thesymmetrical arrangement of all of the elements of the unit 10 allows forease of placing any width window sash in the V-shaped channel 18 as wellas controlling the motors 38 from either side to provide the desired airflow direction. The control knob 52 preferably can be rotated to turnthe fans off, to drive the fans at low speeds and to drive the fans athigh speeds, using conventional control circuitry.

The runner 26 at the bottom of the fan unit 10, depending upon theconstruction of the sill 28 of the window unit, can be made to restdirectly upon the outside portion of a window sill 28 as shown in FIG.3, with the feet 32 and the bottom of the runner 26 directly contactingthe outside portion but with the feet 32 being confined within the sideedges of the runner 26. Alternatively, if it is not easy to find areasonably level resting surface for the bottom of the runner 26, thefeet 32 may be pivoted to their perpendicular relation with the unit 10as shown in FIG. 4 and can have the recessed portions 58 at the bottomof the feet 32 hook onto the inside edge portion 34 of the window sill28.

The fan unit 10 of this invention can be placed in practically alldouble hung windows such as those illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.Additionally, a horizontally movable screened sliding door with avertical opening can receive the same fan unit if it is stood verticallyon one of its end walls 60 or 62.

This invention thus provides a floor and window fan which is not onlyaesthetically pleasing in appearance but also functionally enablessimple and easy installation in any of a variety of openings where airis desired to be taken into or exhausted from a room.

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:
 1. In a combination portableelectric floor and window fan unit having a housing including opposinglouvered front and rear walls, end walls and top and bottom surfaces, anelectric motor, a fan driven by said motor, a cord for connecting saidmotor to an electrical supply, and a manually-operable controlintermediate said supply and said motor for controlling said motor, theimprovement comprising:an upwardly-directed, V-shaped, fixed-widthchannel extending longitudinally of said elongate fan unit and atop saidtop surface for receiving, when said fan is mounted on a horizontalwindow sill below a vertically movable window, the lower horizontalportion of a frame of said window to restrain the fan against tipping;and, the width and angle of said V-shaped channel being adapted toaccommodate receipt of a variety of different thickness window frames.2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein upper portions of saidV-shaped channel comprise handles for enabling manual lifting of saidfan when moving it between different locations of use.
 3. The inventionaccording to claim 2 wherein said upper portions of said channel includerecesses each of a depth permitting several of a person's fingers toenter said recesses to enable lifting said fan with one hand by a singleleg of said channel.
 4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein arunner extends longitudinally and downwardly below said bottom surfaceand wherein said runner and said channel portion span a vertical planeextending through said runner and channel portion, said runner being ofa lateral horizontal width generally corresponding to aminimum-thickness window frame accommodated by said channel.
 5. Theinvention according to claim 4 including a pair of fan-supporting feetselectively positionable between conditions parallel to andperpendicular to said runner, said feet extending perpendicularly tosaid front and rear walls for either supporting said fan unit when saidunit is placed on a floor, or on a portion of a window sill extendinginwardly toward a room when said fan unit is window-mounted.
 6. Theinvention according to claim 5 wherein each foot is recessed upwardlyand centrally from points adjacent each of its ends, said recessesenabling one outward end of each foot on the same side of the fan unitto serve as a hook for engaging the inward edge of the sill to restrainthe fan unit bottom against movement outwardly of said room.
 7. Theinvention according to claim 5 wherein said runner and said channelportion span a vertical plane extending through said runner and channelportion, and further wherein said runner and said feet are all of awidth between their sides generally corresponding to a minimum-thicknesswindow frame accommodated by said V-shaped channel portion, said runnerbeing provided with a pair of upwardly-directed recesses correspondingin length generally to the length of said feet, and means pivotallymounting each foot centrally of its respective runner recess on an axislying in said plane, for enabling said feet to be repositioned fromtheir perpendicular fan-supporting positions to retracted positionsconfined totally within the sides of said runner.
 8. The inventionaccording to claim 7 wherein each foot is recessed upwardly andcentrally from points adjacent each of its ends, said recesses enablingone outward edge of each foot on the same side of the fan unit to serveas a hook for engaging the inward edge of a sill to restrain the fanunit bottom against movement outwardly of said room.